Kollaboration ATL 4 Post-Show Recap0
Posted by Lola Pak
Every year, Kollaboration Atlanta’s main event gains more and more exposure, but for those who were unable to attend, check out our post-show recap!
The Venue
Kollaboration ATL 4 attendees braved the rain and thunder to arrive by 8 p.m. at Center Stage in Midtown. Located just down the street from Atlantic Station, Kollaboration Atlanta has held its main event at the facility for the past three years. The venue’s ample floor space, amphitheater-style seating, large lobby, and central location within the city have made it an ideal place for the main show.
Photo credit: Center Stage
Photo credit: Center Stage
The Host
Roy Choi has co-hosted Kollaboration from its early moments upon being founded in 2000 by Paul “PK” Kim in Los Angeles. He has traveled to witness nearly every Kollaboration show around the country since. On Saturday, Roy spent the entire afternoon supervising dress rehearsals and conversing with the performers and staff. As the show began, Grace Shim, director of Kollaboration Atlanta, introduced him as the emcee of the night.
Photo credit: David Lu
Roy then introduced John Song from Icon Studios to present an additional prize for the 1st place winner, which was an 8-hour complimentary studio session.
Photo credit: David Lu
The Judges
This year’s Kollaboration Atlanta guest judges were selected over a broad range of professions, with two journalists, two back-up musicians, a music studio producer, and a professional hip-hop dance crew.
Jennifer Brett from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Andrew Alexander from Creative Loafing Atlanta brought their expertise in reporting live entertainment, while Kellindo Parker and Mikey Phillips contributed their experiences in performing with high-profile artists, such as Janelle Monáe and Bruno Mars.
Music producer Carlton Lynn of Soapbox Studios was also present to give his professional opinion. Last but not least, members of Jungle Boogie Crew – Raqi Carter, BeeJay Harris, and Antwain Hart – rounded out the judging panel as they rated each performer in skill, stage presence, originality, and audience response.
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
The Performers
The show began with the mellow, Jason Mraz-esque tune of “Go Girl” by Johnny Le & the Crew.
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
As the four-member band hummed its last note, Adam WarRock took to the stage – or rather, the entire theater. Starting from the corner of the stage, Adam circled around the seated audience as he rapped “Angry Asian Man” against the melody of Fort Minor’s “Where’d You Go” before ending in the middle of the floor.
Photo credit: Ming Chung
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
The show’s momentum continued to rise as Rize Up Band took to the stage with guitars, drums, and keyboard. Lead vocalist JR Carmichael encouraged people to crowd the floor as he sang a Christian song expressing the band’s faith.
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
The next performance brought the melodic acoustics of Shilpa Narayan as she sang a mash-up comprised of songs by Mike Posner, Rihanna, Usher, and Mariah Carey.
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: David Lu
Things shook up once more when Emory’s Band Absolute came on to perform Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah” before leading into a cover of Paramore with the same title.
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: David Lu
Photo credit: David Lu
The stage was then cleared for the 29-member dance group, Purple Elephant Society, who arrived decked out in purple, green and sharp suits to showcase their Men in Black-themed choreography.
Photo credit: Ming Chung
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: David Lu
As intermission arrived, Roy announced the freestyle competition for the audience to have a chance at scoring $250, sponsored by Red Mango. The auditions were held backstage and 4 best contenders were chosen to throw down their best moves.
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo Credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
The vibe mellowed again as the next duo, Joy Tolentino & Oscar Mendez, took the stage with their acoustic/vocal duet.
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: David Lu
The crunkness returned with Yellow Boyz, a Southern rap trio who began with a skit intro before leading into a thumping track that shook the entire venue.
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Niko Villamor brought a dramatic element to his performance as he rapped an original song with an entourage of ski-masked figures behind him.
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: David Lu
As the winner of the people’s choice poll taken a month ago on the Kollaboration Atlanta website, Persuasian was awarded with the final competitor slot of the night.
Photo credit: David Lu
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Of course, no Kollaboration event is complete without a moment for the previous year’s reigning champion to remind everyone why they had won. Kollaboration Atlanta 3′s winner, Lost in the Gym, put on yet another amazing and entertaining hip-hop dance showcase to cap off an incredible night of Southern talent.
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
Photo credit: David Lu
Photo credit: Joshua Fu
After all was said and done, Eric Lu of State Farm Insurance came on stage with host Roy to announce the 1st and 2nd place winners of Kollaboration Atlanta 4: Adam WarRock (1st) and Purple Elephant Society (2nd)!
Photo credit: Ming Chung
Photo credit: Ming Chung
Photo credit: Johnny Cheng
All the night’s performances were prefaced with a 1 minute and 30 second video reel of the respective performer, produced by none other than Kollaboration Atlanta’s own videographer, Kris Valeriano and his production team, Bush Jumping Productions.
A huge thanks to all of the photographers who helped chronicle every moment. Check out their individual sites below:
Ming Chung
David Lu
Johnny Cheng
Joshua Fu
STAY TUNED for more posts, photos and videos of the performances from Kollaboration Atlanta 4!
